Field of Invention
This invention is in the field of cold mineral spas for use in cryotherapy. More specifically it is a portable ice boot spa useful for treatment of sore or damaged limb tissue and muscles.
Background
According to Dr Warren Gregson PhD, Principal Lecturer in Exercise Physiology Programme Leader B.Sc. (Hons) Sports Science; School of Sport & Exercise Sciences; Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool; “The application of localised cold or cyrotherapy is well established as a therapeutic modality for the treatment of acute soft-tissue injuries. By decreasing local tissue temperature around the injured site, cryotherapy reduces the inflammatory response in injured tissue as well as decreasing local oedema formation, swelling and pain and thus promotes recovery from soft tissue injury. Along with soft-tissue injury, inflammation is also integral in the development of exercise-induced muscle damage that frequently occurs following unaccustomed or high intensity eccentric exercise. Anecdotal reports have therefore suggested that cooling the previously active limbs via cold water immersion may also serve as an effective recovery strategy for athletes undertaking high intensity exercise. Recent reports in the scientific literature have shown that cold water immersion may alleviate the physiological and functional deficits associated with exercise-induced muscle damage and enhance recovery following high intensity exercise. As a consequence, cold water immersion is now becoming widely adopted by athletes in both training and competition in an attempt to enhance the recovery process. Despite evidence supporting the use of cold water immersion as a recovery modality, little is currently known with respect to the precise physiological mechanisms through which it mediates its effects.” See the information at the website www.coldspa.com/Clinical.html.
Large fixed no-portable ice spas are commercially available and are becoming widely used, particularly for athletes. As reported on its website at www.coldspa.com “ECB, Founded in 2001, started out by making and operating Cold Spas for horses. The use of cold salt hydrotherapy in the equine world was not a new one—trainers have used cold hosing, stood horses in rivers and walked them in the sea for hundreds of years with remarkable results. ECB manufactured a unit that could be easily installed in yards and give trainers easy access to cold salt hydrotherapy.”
“ECB began to hear of stories of people using the horse spas. In one case where the spa had been installed in an equine rehabilitation yard the owner was treating up to 500 people a week. The interest in the benefits for humans using Cold Spas has been phenomenal. Sports teams began to take an interest and add Cold Spas to their facilities. These include the prestigious Welsh Rugby Team and Northampton Saints. From this ECB saw a need for a small ice bath that could be easily installed and used without the need for continuous water changing or large quantities of ice and also giving the option of adding salt in to the water.”
However, these spas are large and are not portable. What is needed is a lightweight portable self-contained ice spa that can be used anyplace and without need for an external source of power or cooling equipment. The present invention is such a spa.